Healthy soil for a healthy nation: why soil health matters

Soil alone contributes significantly to sustaining resilient food, water and energy security. Bangladesh's fertile and sacred soil bears the legacy of historical triumph, cultural pride and agricultural revolution. However, we are careless and cruel to our soil, ignoring its health and dignity. Our soil endures mounting climatic stresses, farming pressure, unchecked pollution and reckless contamination. 'Priya Dharitri' (beloved earth) is incessantly turning barren due to the 'slow poisoning' of commercial plans of corporate development, globalisation and capitalistic aggressions. Bangladesh's dying soil demands urgent justice, stewardship and care.

Today is World Soil Day 2025. The theme for World Soil Day 2025 is "Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities." Along with other countries, Bangladesh is celebrating this international day with a view to creating awareness for soil health and sustainable soil management. The 2025 event will concentrate on urban soils, the impacts of soil sealing and solutions for sustainable soil management in cities to build more resilient and greener urban spaces. The event is likely to stimulate policymakers, local government leaders, scientists, urban planners, land developers and citizens to work together to improve urban soil health and integrate it into city planning.

Healthy soil is the single most important natural asset for food security, climate resilience, and long term economic prosperity; protecting and rebuilding soil health delivers higher yields, lower costs, cleaner water and stronger communities. Investing in soil health is an investment in productivity and risk reduction. Healthy soils increase nutrient use efficiency and reduce erosion, which lowers long-term production costs and preserves the productive base for future generations. 

Heavy metals (Lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel and zinc) accumulate in agricultural and urban soils near industries, tanneries and traffic corridors, causing soil pollution. Intensive use of insecticides, herbicides and fertilizers has left persistent residues and altered soil microbial communities, reducing soil health and increasing risks of contaminated food and groundwater. Untreated or poorly treated discharges from tanneries, textile mills, metal processing plants and shipbreaking yards deposit organic pollutants, heavy metals, dyes and salts into adjacent soils; peri urban and suburban industrial belts around Dhaka and other cities show elevated contamination from these sources.

Oil and hydrocarbon spills from transport, storage, and machinery degrade soil structure and harm soil organisms. Municipal solid waste and sewage sludge dumping add plastics, pathogens and mixed chemical loads to soils near urban fringes. Microplastics and emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, personal care chemicals) are increasingly detected in soils but remain under monitored. 

Urban soils are often overlooked, but they perform critical ecosystem services that make cities livable. Unlike rural soils, urban soils are shaped by construction, compaction, contamination and fragmented green spaces, so protecting and restoring them requires targeted planning and management. Urban soils regulate stormwater, mitigate urban heat islands, filter pollutants and support urban biodiversity. Well-structured soils increase infiltration and reduce runoff, lowering flood risk and easing pressure on drainage systems. They also store and cycle nutrients that sustain street trees, parks and community gardens -assets that improve air quality and public well-being. Urban soils face compaction, contamination (heavy metals, hydrocarbons), poor structure and low organic matter, which limit plant growth and ecosystem function.

Cities should integrate soil health into urban planning, stormwater codes and public space design. Actions include routine urban soil mapping, standards for soil volumes and quality in developments, municipal compost programmes and incentives for green infrastructure. Cross-departmental coordination-public works, parks, planning and public health-is essential to align investments and monitoring. 

Efficient land management aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 13 (Climate Action) and Goal 15 (Life on Land). Bangladesh should strive to implement sustainable land management with strong policies, stringent land protection laws, modern technologies and community involvement. 

Green soil health management projects have the potential to earn carbon credits, boosting our economy. Soil health and carbon sequestration are interconnected: better soil health enables greater carbon sequestration and, in turn, carbon sequestration enhances soil health.  Healthy soils, rich in organic matter, can store more carbon from the atmosphere. Urban soil carbon projects can improve soil health and store carbon in the land. 

To convert soil health into national wealth, governments should deploy a mix of public investments, incentive programmes and market mechanisms. Public funding for research, demonstration farms and advisory services lowers adoption barriers. Payment for ecosystem services and carbon markets can monetise public benefits, while crop insurance and credit products can be redesigned to reward soil-building practices. 

Healthy soil is not a cost but a capital asset. It yields higher productivity, greater resilience and broad public benefits that strengthen the economy. Realising those gains requires coordinated action such as farmers adopting regenerative practices, markets valuing ecosystem services and governments aligning incentives to sustain soil health across generations. A nation that treats soil as strategic capital builds a more prosperous, resilient and equitable future.

Healthy soils are foundational urban infrastructure that deliver resilience, equity and fiscal savings. By treating soils as a strategic asset-through protection, restoration and policy integration - cities can unlock multiple co-benefits for people and the environment. Practical actions to build healthy urban soils begin with protecting existing topsoil during construction and reusing it in landscaping. Organic matter can be increased through composting programmes, safe use of biosolids and community compost hubs. Soil compaction should be reduced with engineered planting pits, permeable pavements and designated tree-root zones. Contamination can be remediated through phytoremediation, soil replacement or in-situ stabilisation where necessary. Urban agriculture also needs support through soil testing, raised beds with clean growing media and training for safe food production. Showing humble homage and love for our sacred motherland, let all of us do our best for soil health, justice, and care.

The writer is an agriculturist, climate activist and civil servant. He can be reached at roushonjamal@yahoo.com